Bituminous materials, especially asphalt and coal tars, have been utilized as roofing materials particularly in built-up roofing (i.e., BUR) applications, as road paving materials, and as adhesive materials. However, such materials tend to deteriorate under conditions of extreme temperature variations, constant exposure to physical stress, and environmental weathering. Various proposals have been made in the art to modify the bituminous materials to overcome these deficiencies.
Although asphalt and coal tar have a similar appearance when in a package or in a finished roof, they are derived from different raw materials, and they are also different in their chemistry. Coal tar is obtained by heating bituminous coal tar to very high temperatures and collecting the volatile materials that are produced. These volatiles are referred to as crude coke oven tar, and the solid residue left behind is called coke. The crude coke oven tar is processed to recover a variety of materials including creosote and precursors for a large number of other important chemicals. The residue left after this processing step is called coal tar pitch which comprises primarily aromatic hydrocarbons. The coal tar pitch is the material used in the more familiar applications of roofing and asphalt concrete surfacing.
Asphalt, on the other hand, is derived from petroleum or crude oil and comprises primarily aliphatic hydrocarbons. Crude oil is processed at a refinery by distilling off the "light ends" to produce materials such as propane, gasoline, fuel oils, and chemical intermediates. The residue that remains from the distillation is referred to as straight-run asphalt. Straight run asphalt is processed primarily for road paving applications, and after further processing (e.g., oxidation or blowing), it is converted to roofing asphalts designated as D312 Types I through IV, by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).
The present invention relates to compositions which are prepared from coal tar as opposed to compositions which are prepared from asphalt. Aqueous coal tar emulsions have been described in the prior art as useful in preparing protective coatings. In its most common form, an aqueous coal tar emulsion comprises an emulsion of a coal tar in an aqueous medium with an emulsifying or dispersing agent such as an organic soap or detergent and/or an inorganic colloid such as a particulate clay. A conventional practice in the protective coating art is to brush, spray or paint the articles with an aqueous emulsion of coal tar. When the coating of coal tar dries on the article, it provides a protective film. Such films, however, have certain disadvantages such as being attacked by various solvents, being soft, and having inadequate ductility or tensile strength. It has been proposed to improve these properties by including various additives into the emulsions. Thermoplastic rubbers, for example, have been suggested as useful additives for coal tar emulsions to improve solvent resistance and elasticity of the film. In particular, a synthetic acrylonitrile-butadiene latex has been suggested as being useful for adding to coal tar emulsions. U.S. Pat. No. 3,027,342 describes a rubberized coal tar emulsion by dissolving a copolymer of acrylonitrile and butadiene and coal tar to form a solution which can be successfully emulsified in an aqueous medium without the addition of an emulsifying agent. U.S. Pat. No. 3,296,165 describes a coal tar emulsion composition comprising an emulsion coating including an emulsified coal tar/clay mixture and a butyl rubber latex. The compositions described in the '165 patent also include an aluminum powder additive.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,497,371 describes coal tar emulsions containing certain filler materials, a synthetic rubber latex, and certain water-soluble organic amines.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,835,117 and 3,897,380 describe rubberized coal tar emulsion compositions especially suitable for sealing bituminous pavement compositions such as asphalt pavement compositions. The rubberized coal tar emulsions described in these two patents comprises a major portion of a prepared coal tar pitch emulsion and water and a minor portion of an acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymer latex having an average particle size between 400 and 1000 angstroms, and, optionally, a silicone resin.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,544,690 also describes aqueous rubberized coal tar emulsions. The coal tar emulsions described in this patent comprise a major portion of a commercial coal tar emulsion and water admixed with a small amount of a carboxylated butadiene-styrene-acid copolymer latex having a particular size. The emulsions also may contain a fine aggregate filler material such as sand. Such emulsions are reported to exhibit a high degree of spreadability, and to provide a sealing coating that has a long life.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,835,199 and 4,973,615 describe bituminous compositions comprising a blend of bitumen (including asphalts and tars) and a thermoplastic elastomer containing at least two polymer blocks wherein one of said polymer blocks is a crystalline polymer block and one of said polymer blocks is an amorphous polymer block. Examples of such thermoplastic elastomers include styrene-butadiene block copolymers. The compositions described in the '615 patent also include a polyolefin.